This is part 1 of 3—keep an eye out for the remainder of the list in the coming days!
Hello Scientist Gamers!
Welcome to 2024!
Another year is behind us and I hope you were all able to enjoy the always-too-short holiday season. I ate too much and didn’t game enough but it was nice to be away from the screen for a while.
But alas, all of that has to come to an end at some point and I am back in front of the screen, working away. At the same time I’m excited about new beginnings, and in particular, some of the exciting new games that are planned for release this year.
So I want to share some of that excitement with you through 24 games that I’m looking forward to this year. I started posting some of these games as part of an advent calendar at the end of last year but stopped half way due to technical/scheduling difficulties (if you are interested in the full list, I was able to complete it on Twitter/X).
Xenonauts 2
Release date: currently early access
Developer: Goldhawk Interactive
Publisher: Hooded Horse
Available on: Steam (PC), Epic
A lot of what draws me to these kinds of games is their replayability—the ability to start a game countless times and experience something new. But beyond that, trying different strategies and reacting to tactical surprises, in other words, problem solving, is really what the game is all about.
You’ll problem-solve your way through tactical combat against enemy forces, manage personnel, direct research, and establish global bases to keep Earth safe from invading aliens. It’s not a new concept—the game is heavily influenced by the XCOM games of old. But you don’t need to be familiar with the genre to enjoy the game; the tutorial mission and early game will give you a good foundation for dealing with whatever the game will throw at you.
I get that games like this can provide a mind-numbing amount of information and there is admittedly a lot to keep track of. But going through the tutorial mission and playing the first hour or so of the game a couple of times is a great way to familiarize yourself with the systems and information at play.
You’ll love this game if you’re willing to put in some time to familiarize yourself with the game. After that, you might find yourself wondering where the time has gone.
Average play session length: long; plan to spend an hour or more from the start of one tactical mission to the next (includes between mission strategic planning)
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 7/10; if you’re in the flow, you’ll want to continue, otherwise you might get a bit tired especially in tougher battles
Replayability score: 10/10; many ways to start the game and modding is being built in, promising even more ways to enjoy the game
All Quiet in the Trenches
Release date: January 17, 2024 (early access); demo available now
Developer: Totally Not Aliens
Publisher: Totally Not Aliens
Available on: Steam (PC)
I generally stay away from historical war games because personally, I don’t feel comfortable making light (game) of wars that have killed millions in our violent history. But the developers describe this game as an anti-war game, and I agree wholeheartedly with that assessment.
You command a small squad of German soldiers in the western trenches during World War I. No grand strategy planning or ordering air strikes wherever you see fit; just four soldiers (to start) fighting their way through the trenches. Fighting is probably the wrong word here; you’ll be running for your pixelated life from the gunfire and artillery shells that explode around you.
There are two modes of game play. The first is the soldier management part, where most of the story takes place. You’ll be taking orders from your superiors and balancing that with your soldier and squad needs. You’ll assign your soldiers to get food or repair the trenches, which adds to their fatigue, and soon you’ll be faced with sending a very tired soldier to fetch food or not have food at all. It feels like the kind of heart-wrenching decisions that had to be made on the front.
The second is the “tactical” portion of the game. The demo covers the first trench engagement and it is INTENSE. You have choices about how to move your squad, with each choice showing you the relative level of danger and what you might expect to find. You’re not alone on this map either; in that first mission, you’ll find yourself surrounded by 5~6 other enemy units and just as many allied units who will move with and react to your choices.
I have never experienced the nail-biting “what’s going to happen next” moments that I did in the opening mission of the game. I’m stoked to see how this game plays when more content is released for early access!
Average play session length: long; plan to spend just about an hour playing through the tactical portion of the game and the following soldier management layer
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 10/10; even on my second time through the demo, I had to play it through to see what would happen next
Replayability score: 5/10; I’m assuming that the story will remain largely the same, so your overall experience is unlikely to change
Cyber Knights: Flashpoint
Release date: currently early access
Developer: Trese Brothers
Publisher: Trese Brothers
Available on: Steam (PC)
One of my favourite games in recent memory is a game called Invisible Inc. where you command a squad of spies who must infiltrate various facilities to obtain information and uncover secrets. Cyber Knights feels like it takes that formula and amplifies the experience a thousand fold by adding XCOM-like combat to the tactical scenario. It was an element that I think was missing in Invisible Inc. but that is captured perfectly in this game.
Instead of being thrown into a map expecting to go loud, the tactical portion of this game starts you off in stealth mode, moving around the map and setting up for the firefight. I think it’s a lot more satisfying than the stealth in games like Mutant Year Zero and Lamplighter’s League because you can’t spend an insane amount of time sneaking around and setting up for the perfect combination. There is a security protocol mechanic that adds enemies the more time your squad spends on the map.
While this may sound like an artificial way to make you play a certain way, keep in mind that this is still in early access and the specifics of how this mechanic plays out in the final version may be different from the early access version. Since it released into early access mid-October, there have been 36 updates as of the end of 2023, which is a testament to the dizzying pace at which this game is changing.
Character customization and development is a huge part of this game and there appears to be no shortage of unique ways to configure your agents. I’m excited to dive into this game and create some memorable game moments as it progresses through early access!'
Average play session length: long; plan to spend an hour or more from the start of one tactical mission to the next (includes between mission strategic planning)
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 7/10; if you’re in the flow, you’ll want to continue, otherwise you might get a bit tired especially in tougher battles
Replayability score: 10/10; with deep character customization options, planned mission types, and environments to explore, you’ll have tons of ways to enjoy this game for a long time
Mars Tactics
Release date: sometime in 2024 (likely early access)
Developer: Takibi Games
Publisher: Hooded Horse
Available on: Steam (PC)
Emergent game play, which refers to the unscripted, organic, and often unpredictable outcomes of play is something that has been reserved for tabletop games in the past. This was, for the most part, a technical limitation of the development process for video games.
Mars Tactics plans to turn that around and I sincerely hope that it succeeds. As with many games on this list, it is very heavily focused on turn-based combat, and it is on the battlefield that the emergent game play can be expected to play a big role. A destructible environment means you can destroy and create cover for your squad dynamically on the battlefield. Even your soldiers will gain abilities based on their battlefield accomplishments.
Using your character to revive or heal units may grant the lifesaver trait. Dodging enemy fire Matrix style may grant you a lucky trait. Whereas most games dictate how you use your units based on how you progress them, this one will progress your characters based on how you use them, more closely tying their actions to progression.
It might not seem like much, but I hope that this kind of a progression system will find its way to more games in the future. It isn’t all automatically decided for you, as you will still have a say in how you develop your character, but instead of the same preset choices, you’ll have choices tied to the story unfolding around your characters.
The game is still early in development and I’m excited to see how development for this game will unfold!
Average play session length: long; plan to spend an hour or more from the start of one tactical mission to the next (includes between mission strategic planning)
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 7/10; if you’re in the flow, you’ll want to continue, otherwise you might get a bit tired especially in tougher battles
Replayability score: 10/10; character customization and emergent features means no two playthroughs will be alike
Wantless: Solace at World’s End
Release date: currently early access; demo available
Developer: Drop Rate Studio
Publisher: Twin Sails Interactive
Available on: Steam (PC)
It’s a good thing we are mostly oblivious to the inner working of our minds—as Wantless: Solace at World’s End shows, the insides of people’s brains can be pure horror.
You play as Eiris, a doctor with the ability to dive into her patient’s minds and cure them of whatever afflicts them. And there are a LOT of things afflicting the patients in this game, all expressed as grotesque creatures.
The interesting mechanic in this game has to be the action point system. Eiris starts off with 8 action points every turn, and every point that she uses will be given to each enemy on the map. So it may not be in your best interest to always use 8 action points as that may give your enemies a chance to attack you multiple times. This system ends up making combat feel more like a puzzle similar to Into the Breach, but unlike in that game, there isn’t one ideal solution to each encounter.
When you aren’t mucking around in your patient’s brains, you’ll be crafting new skills for Eiris using crafting materials that you get as rewards. Combining these items is a lot of fun as it can change how you get through the combat portion of the game.
Ultimately, I’m looking forward to diving even deeper into the twisted minds of my patients and I hope you will too.
Average play session length: long; plan to spend an hour or more from the start of one patient to the next (includes between mission strategic planning)
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 7/10; if you’re in the flow, you’ll want to continue, otherwise you might get a bit tired especially in tougher battles
Replayability score: 6/10; there aren’t that many customization options beyond skills
USC: Counterforce
Release date: currently early access
Developer: Angry Cat Studios, Creatio 49
Publisher: Firesquid
Available on: Steam (PC)
If you ever wondered what it would feel like to be a soldier deployed to deal with alien infestations across in a myriad of locations, look no further than USC: Counterforce. This game will blow you out of your seat (literally).
You control up to 5 soldiers from a top-down view, moving them through derelict research stations and ships to complete various objectives. Life is never that simple though and each of these locations is infested with aliens. Lots. Of. Aliens.
Thankfully, you have a variety of weapons at your disposal, from handguns to assault rifles to mini guns and cryo cannons. They can all be used to take out the enemies, provided your are looking in the right direction. You better watch your six though because if you aren’t careful, the aliens will come crashing through the walls (again, literally) to sneak up on you from behind.
And the hordes will come for you. If you’ve placed yourself at a tactical disadvantage, they’ll rip into your team in no time—I once made the mistake of splitting up my team and let’s just say there were no happy endings for that squad. I also seem to be a magnet for untimely explosions—my record is setting off 8 consecutive explosions that led to the unfortunate demise of half my squad.
The early access version is missing a campaign mode, but the individual skirmish maps are still a lot of fun. Soldier information, their abilities, and loadouts are fully customizable so you can make your squad however you see fit. The single skirmish missions can also be customized for length and difficulty, which adds to the replayability of the game.
I love what has already been implemented for this game and can’t wait to get my hands on the full version of the game, which promises an open-ended campaign mode with an adaptive storyline.
Average play session length: long; plan to spend an hour or more for the shorter skirmish missions; even longer if you have upped the difficulty and length
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 7/10; if you’re in the flow, you’ll want to continue, otherwise you might get a bit tired especially in prolonged sessions
Replayability score: 10/10; with deep character customization options, planned campaign mode, and environments to explore, you’ll have tons of ways to enjoy this game for a long time
Beastieball
Release date: sometime in 2024
Developer: Wishes Unlimited Games
Publisher: Klei Publishing
Available on: Steam (PC, Mac)
Not all turn-based games have to follow the tried-and-true but somewhat overdone sci-fi, dark fantasy, or war game trope. Once in a while, a gem like Beastieball comes along and injects an entirely different energy into the genre.
If you’ve ever fancied doing more with your Pokemon than having them beat each other into a pulp, I think you’ll enjoy this game. While it isn’t a Pokemon game, the premise is similar: you’ll recruit different beasts to your team and have them level up under your care. But instead of clawing, pecking, and shocking other beasts, you’ll get them to play a mostly friendly match of volleyball against each other.
The volleyball game happens in a turn-based manner and you’ll be able to choose between spiking the ball into the faces of your opponents, using a special ability to do further damage, or setting the ball up for the ultimate power combo. These combos become available as your beasties play together, developing relationships between them. It’s a cool way to introduce different ways to play and experience the game.
Ultimately, the game’s longevity will depend heavily on the creature collection system; how difficult they are to find and recruit and the number of them that are available for players to find. 30 years of Pokemon have led to over 1000 (if anyone knows the exact number, please let me know in the comments below as my search results yielded slightly different numbers depending on the source) official Pokemons allowing for plenty of beasts to discover. I don’t think Beastieball will ship with that many beasts to start, but I’m hoping for a rich assortment of creatures to collect.
Average play session length: short; one volleyball game will probably take about 5 minutes, so much of your time will be spent exploring the (hopefully) vast open world
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 8/10; please let me know if you are able to stop yourself after just one volleyball game, I certainly could not
Replayability score: 9/10; I’m assuming a deep bench of creatures but I might have to adjust the score depending on the number of beasties that ship with the game (and how many more are planned for the future)
Quasimorph
Release date: currently early access
Developer: Magnum Scriptum
Publisher: HypeTrain Digital
Available on: Steam (PC)
Fast-paced is not necessarily a term associated with turn-based games, yet, Quasimorph is exactly that: a frenetically paced turn-based game that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
This is an awesome, push-your-luck survival extraction game where each move on a grid map is a turn. Your enemies will also take their turn, one square at a time. Some will shoot at you from distance and some will mad rush you hoping to bash, slice, maim, and infect you in any way they can.
I love this game because it makes the survival game more accessible to me. If I need to take a breath, I can without worrying about other players or NPCs mauling me. But once I resume my turn, I can jump right back into the frenzy. There are tons of enemies, loot, and locations to discover so you can jump back into this world again and again.
The path to 1.0 is filled with additional content including new locations to explore, narrative missions, and new systems like ranks and augmentations. I’m excited to see how this game progresses through development!
Average play session length: varies; one mission lasts as long as you can stay alive, which in my case is not very long
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 10/10; you’ll find yourself saying just one more floor or one more area—it’s hard to put this game down
Replayability score: 10/10; the whole point of this game is to keep on exploring and playing and with lots of locations to explore, I think you’ll be playing this game for a long time
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